Virginia Commonwealth University Announces New ICA

Virginia Commonwealth University has unveiled the model for its new Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA). Designed by Steven Holl Architects, and scheduled to open in 2015, the 38,000-square-foot space will be a non-collecting, venue for the exhibition of visual art, theater, dance and film. Blueprints for the building include a 240-plus-seat performance space, outdoor plazas, a sculpture garden, classrooms, a café and administrative offices.

Situated at the corner of Richmond’s busy Belvidere/Broad Street intersection, the ICA will center on a double-height forum from which galleries will radiate in forked arms, allowing artists to create works that extend across the space along various paths. Dual entrances, one facing the street and the other fronting VCU’s campus, reflect university president Michael Roa’s hope that the ICA “will be a transformational resource for arts education, experimentation and for the enhancement of VCU and Richmond as a capital city committed to the arts.”

The project is estimated to cost $32 million. A director search is underway.

Holl’s final design for the ICA will be presented at New York’s Meulensteen gallery beginning Apr. 26. “Forking Time” will additionally feature 30 study models and concept drawings that depict the design’s development.

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